Bobby Maxwell
Friday's winners...
300-Unit College Football E-Z Winner - WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS
The Big East takes center stage on Friday night and I’m going to go ahead and lay the points with West Virginia on the road tonight at UConn.
The Mountaineers have won six straight against the Huskies dating back to 2004 and they have cashed in five of the six games, including four with lines that were seven or more. West Virginia has won three straight at UConn and none of the three have even been close, with the narrowest margin of victory being 12 points, and that was way back in 2004.
West Virginia last played on October 23 when they were stunned at home by Syracuse, losing 19-14 as 13 ½-point favorites. So you know the Mountaineers have been anxious to get back on the field and pulverize someone. QB Geno Smith has thrown for 1,536 yards to go with 15 TDs and just five INTs. He has been playing great and I don’t think UConn can stop him tonight.
UConn has just flat-out not looked good against any team that puts up a fight. They lost to Michigan, Temple, Rutgers and Louisville. It was a 26-0 loss in Louisville back on Oct. 23 where they didn’t come close as three-point ‘dogs.
The Mountaineers come in on some positive ATS runs, including 4-1 in Big East play, 4-1 overall and 11-0 on the road against teams with losing records. The favorite has cashed in five of the last six meetings between these two and I’m expecting more of the same today.
Lay the chalk with West Virginia and we’ll be counting our profit at the end of the night.
100-Unit NBA Smart Play - ATLANTA HAWKS
Atlanta coach Larry Drew tweaked the offense in the offseason and it certainly looked like it worked with a 119-104 victory as 2 ½-point road favorites in Memphis.
This might be the year when the Hawks make a little more noise in the playoffs, as they are a year more mature and they really seem to enjoy playing together. Atlanta demolished the Bucks with All-Star center Al Horford playing just 18 minutes and managed just 2 points and 7 rebounds. The Hawks were led by Mr. Steady Joe Johnson and his 22 points. Also chipping in was guard Mike Bibby (19 points), Zaza Pachulia (17 points and 11 rebounds) and Marvin Williams (15 points).
The Hawks shot 52.5 percent from the floor on opening night and as long as they are spreading the ball around, Atlanta could do some damage in the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia opened the season at home and fell 97-87 to the Heat as eight-point underdogs. The Sixers had no starter with more than 12 points, but they had four bench players with double-digit points, including rookie Evan Turner who had 16 points and 7 rebounds in his debut.
Atlanta is on several ATS streaks, including 14-5 against Atlantic Division teams, 14-4 after a straight-up win and 6-2 after a spread cover. Philadelphia is terrible at the betting window, on skids of 19-39-1 at home, 7-18-1 as a home underdog, 8-21-1 against Eastern Conference squads and 5-16 against the Southeast Division.
Look to go ahead and lay the points with the Hawks in Philly tonight. I’ll play Atlanta in this one to completely dominated Philadelphia. Lay the points with play Atlanta.